Commentary:

Characters:

Setting:

Summary:

Under development.

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Reading and Reference Texts:

Reading copy:

“The Black Cat” — reading copy

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Historical Texts:

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

Text-01 — “The Black Cat” — late 1842 or early 1843 — roll MS, not seen since
1843, and almost surely lost after the printing, although this version is presumably recorded in Text-02. F.
O. C. Darley wrote to G. E. Woodberry on February 26, 1884 that he could still “remember his reading his ‘Gold
Bug’ and ‘Black Cat’ to me before they were published. The form of his manuscript was peculiar: he wrote on half
sheets of note paper, which he pasted together at the ends, making one continuous piece, which he rolled up tightly. As he read he
dropped it upon the floor. It was very neatly written, and without corrections, apparently” (Woodberry, 1885, p. 181, and
repeated, 1909, 2:2-3) In a letter to Ezra Holden of August 26, 1843, Poe comments that “Patterson, of the ‘Post,’
gave me, some weeks ago, for ‘The Black Cat,’ 20$.”

Text-04 — “The Black Cat” — November 1848 —
Pictorial National Library — (Mabbott text C) (Mabbott suggests that the changes in this version are
“unauthorized,” but “just short of absolute certainty” and thus he records the variants)

“The Black Cat” — 1911 — Sunday American’s Summer Library of Gems of Short
Fiction, No. 3 — (printed by and distributed free to subscribers of the New York American Journal Examiner, this
thin pamphlet is printed on very bad, pulp paper. It features an illustration by Aubrey Beardsley. This number also includes
“Mliss” by Bret Harte.)

“The Black Cat” — September 18, 1947 — a radio show broadcast on theMystery in the
Air show, starring Peter Lorre. (This episode is available on CD as part of a 6-CD set of “Smithsonian Legendary
Performers,” issued in 2004. As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been
modified.)

“The Black Cat” — February 11, 1950 — a radio show broadcast on The Hall of
Fantasy show, introduced as “dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown.” (As was often the case
with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been modified.)

“The Black Cat” — April 1954 — Nightmare (number 12) (a comic-book)

“Kara Kedi” — 1955 — Altin Böcek [Golden Beetle], Varlik edition,
Istanbul (Turkish translation) (the small softbound book has 109 pages. It features “The Gold-Bug” but includes seven
other tales.)

“The Black Cat” — 1960 — a reading by Nelson Olmsted on The Raven: Poems and Tales of
Edgar Allan Poe, issued on the Vanguard label (VRS-9046, rereleased as VSD-32)

“The Black Cat” — 1960-1965 — a radio show broadcast on theBlack Mass show. (This
was apparently a local broadcast in California. As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story
has been modified.)

“The Black Cat” — 1962 — a reading by Richard Taylor on Horror: Edgar Allan Poe,
issued on the Random Records label (M-37) (running time, around 13:37 and 15:37) (This is a very cheaply produced 33 1/3 LP, with a
single narrator speaking over a very reverberant and somewhat off-key electric organ played for atmosphere. The jacket features
simple black and white graphics. The narrator, who has a surprisingly high voice and a detectable Brooklyn accent, is noted as being
21 at the time of the recording. This album was initially advertised for $2.98, and 25¢ for shipping and handling. This was
part of a series of 4 albums.)

“The Black Cat” — 2006 — an episode from the “Masters of Horror” series on
the Showtime cable network. (The episode first aired on January 19, the anniversary of Poe’s birthday.) It was directed
by Stuart Gordon, with Jeffrey Combs as Poe. Although the director makes a great deal about how “authentic” the film is
to Poe’s story, his notion of authenticity appears to be limited to the graphic nature of the goriest special effects. By
attempting the tired (and erroneous) cliche of mixing Poe’s life with his works, the screenplay ends up serving neither well.
The production values are generally quite high, but the biographical material, particularly that offered in the commentary, has a
few genuine details mixed with much falsehood, and is best ignored. George Graham, who in real life helped Poe a great deal, is also
portrayed very unfairly.

Forgeries:

“The Black Cat” — (Fragment, 1 leaf, 4 x 6 5/6 inches, comprising the following text:
“[. . .] attempt to expound them . . . as to make me the jest of my [. . .]” The text is
written in what appears to be dark brown ink, running from left to right edges, on only one side of the page, apparently in an
attempt to imitate Poe’s use of roll manuscripts. The writing is somewhat clumsy, with some words or parts of words being much
darker than the general text. A mark of ‘II,’ for a Roman numeral of ‘2’, appears at the top of the page.
The fragment was offered as a genuine Poe manuscript by New England Book Auctions, Sale Number 366, October 21, 2008, as item 204,
with an estimate of $15,000-$25,000, but was promptly retracted from sale over doubts about its authenticity. It was in the
collection of Richard Oinonen, who died in 2001, and is probably the work of Joseph Cosey. It may have been kept by Mr. Oinonen as
an example of a forgery by someone who was notably notorious in the field, especially for his Poe forgeries. It bears a strong
resemblance to a forgery of “To Helen,” offered in the same sale as item 208.)

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Bibliography:

Anderson, Carl L., Poe in Northlight: The Scandanavian Response to His Life and Work, Durham, NC: Duke
Unversity Press, 1973.